Quilting is becoming an increasingly important and integral part of my life. My creative outlet changes how I view the world around me, influences the activities I pursue with my family, and introduces me to new people whose life paths wouldn't ordinarily intersect mine. My life is much like my favorite types of quilts - scrappy and unconventional, full of interest and surprises, and with an underlying current of making do (and making something beautiful!) with what I have.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

When I haven't posted for a while, I feel so overwhelmed when I DO sit down to post - where do I start?

Sat, April 14 - I went to a quilt guild meeting. Beyond loving the fellowship with other quilters and the programs that we have, I love the FREEBIE table! This month I picked up some Ghastlies fabric,

as well as two magazines to read on the plane to Atlanta that afternoon. In one magazine, I came across directions to make a rag rug using a Toothbrush Needle. Intrigued, I read that pattern prior to leaving for the airport. Not only did I have that trip to Atlanta, but in the next six weeks, I am also presenting at conferences at Princeton, Stanford and Nortwestern, so I have travel coming up for which I'd love some handwork. We know that hand quilting on the plane is hit or miss - sometimes they steal my needles and pins! The toothbrush needle, however, is plastic and blunt - I quickly scrounged up some ugly material to take with me and vowed to get started on learning this right away.

Sun, April 15 - I spent Saturday night with my quilting buddy, Nancy. When she asked what I had brought with me to work on for that trip (she knows me so well!), I showed her the article for the rag rug. It turns out, she had a Toothbrush Needle to loan me while I order one for myself - obviously, this project is meant to be!

Mon, April 16 - I spent Sunday and Monday night with another Atanta area buddy. After attending two work events on Sunday afternoon and evening, I hadn't planned anything for myself on Monday. We dropped her kids off at school, hiked up Kennesaw Mountain, had a delicious brunch at a French bakery/bistro, and then visited TWO quilt shops! She's not even a quilter! What a good friend!

This was my first visit to Tiny Stitches in Marietta. I picked up half a yard of this coffee print

Beware - washed out colors from phone camera

to hopefully add to this stitchery I did this winter.

Then, it was off to Little Quilts, a shop I remembered from last year because of their "fill a baggie with scraps for $5" bin. Tiny Stitches has that, too, but their scraps were limited in variety and really small. Little Quilts' bin, however, is big and diverse and I just wanted to pour it over my head and roll around in all the scrappy goodness! So, of course, I filled a baggie. When I got back to my friend's house, not only did I photograph it all, but I laid it out on top of my half yard from the other shop to see how much scrap yardage I got for my $5. Any guesses?

Tue, April 17 - After attending water aerobics with my girlfriend (which is a killer workout, by the way! I used muscles that I'd never noticed before!), I presented a workshop to some faculty at an Atlanta high school, ate some delicious Thai food, and headed to the airport, determined to figure out how to make this rag rug. During my down time, I had already prepared all the strips of fabric and watched some videos online, so I was ready to go.

Or so I thought. I couldn't figure it out for the life of me! I must have started and then started over TEN times in Atlanta, and then in Charlotte during my layover. Just before we boarded in Charlotte, it clicked. It actually isn't hard at all! I'm glad I stuck with it, because I was mightily frustrated for a while there, but this truly is a perfect travel project!

Wed, April 18 - Going back to work after nearly a week away stinks. Need I say more? When I got home from work, I went to bed.

Thu, April 19 - work, took a karate class, taught a karate class, attended a Cub Scout committee meeting, went to bed exhausted

Fri, April 20 - work, put some finishing touches on the chicken tractor (yes - I am STILL working on that; all that remains is attaching the hardware cloth and getting the chickens), volunteered at the Drive-In Movies, went to bed exhausted

Sat, April 21 - cussed at the alarm clock when it rang, got up and made the kids a hot breakfast before the District Pinewood Derby (where my kids came in 17th and 18th out of 18 cars. They are also the only two kids who built the cars themselves, rather than assisting their dad with car construction. I'm proud of them, but they were pretty bummed.). Shopped for groceries, stopped at the Post Office to send out some squishy love to my mom, my sisters, and one special, hilarious quilting woman in southern Australia who will remain unnamed but most of you probably know who she is, and stopped at the Goodwill to check for bedsheets that I could use in rag rug construction (yeah, I know the whole point was to use up the uglies in my stash, but I couldn't resist). Instead of bedsheets, I scored some FABRIC - 3.5 yards of the pink and 4.33 yards of the floral.

I've already picked out an ugly from my stash to pair with the pink for a rag rug, and the floral will likely end up the backing of some scrappy quilt. Oh, and each piece of fabric was $1.00!

I spent the afternoon alternately eating and working on my rag rag. While sitting at my little iron bistro set on my front porch, I realized that these round rugs would actually be great seat "cushions" for those bistro chairs; the current seat "cushions" have no cushion left in them and I have been unable to locate the right size cushions anywhere. Voila!

I'm going to try to attach an elasticized sleeve to the back to keep them in place. Now to make another one!

Sun, April 22 - I've got cub scouts this afternoon, our last Den Meeting of the year, but other than that, there is nothing that I HAVE to do. So instead, I'm doing what I WANT to do - read, blog, nap. A lovely Sunday. I hope your Sunday is lovely, too!

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About Me

I am blessed with a fantastic family - an attentive husband; two smart, handsome and extremely active sons, a mom of uncommon strength and limitless love, and three smart and fun siblings. I quit my job in college admissions, which I enjoyed, to pursue my passions and open a shop for fiber artists of all kinds to share their talents with others. Now, I spend my days teaching, helping customers and CREATING!